BackgroundObese and overweight people have a higher risk of both chronic physical illness and mental illness. Obesity is reported to be positively associated with psychiatric disorders, especially in people who seek obesity treatment. At the same time, obesity treatment may be influenced by psychological factors or personality characteristics. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of mental disorders among ethnic Chinese who sought obesity treatment.MethodsSubjects were retrospectively recruited from an obesity treatment center in Taiwan. The obesity treatments included bariatric surgery and non-surgery treatment. All subjects underwent a standardized clinical evaluation with two questionnaires and a psychiatric referral when needed. The psychiatric diagnosis was made thorough psychiatric clinic interviews using the SCID. A total of 841 patients were recruited. We compared the difference in psychiatric disorder prevalence between patients with surgical and non-surgical treatment.ResultsOf the 841 patients, 42% had at least one psychiatric disorder. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and eating disorders were the most prevalent categories of psychiatric disorders. Females had more mood disorders and eating disorders than males. The surgical group had more binge-eating disorder, adjustment disorder, and sleep disorders than the non-surgical group.ConclusionA high prevalence of psychiatric disorders was found among ethnic Chinese seeking obesity treatment. This is consistent with study results in the US and Europe.

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The purpose of the present study was to explore the suicidal ideation of community-dwelling elderly and the factors associated with their intention to commit suicide. Using a multilevel stratified sampling strategy, 1000 elderly subjects were recruited (aged 65-74 years old) in Taiwan during the year 2001. The degree of depression and its correlates were assessed. Suicidal ideation was measured by asking respondents if they had had any suicidal thoughts in the previous week. In all, 16.7% of respondents reported suicidal ideation within the past week; its occurrence was related to sex, religious belief, employment status, marital status, average family monthly income, physical health status, depressive symptoms, and community activity participation. Further multivariate logistic regression revealed that, aside from depressive symptoms and a lower level of education, no community participation in the past 6 months was significantly associated with the appearance of suicidal ideation. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among the elderly in Taiwan is higher than in Western countries. Participation in social activities is negatively associated with elderly suicidal ideation. The dimension of social participation deserves further exploration and should be considered in community mental health promotion interventions for elderly people.

Purpose of reviewBariatric surgery has been consistently shown to be effective in long-term marked weight loss and in bringing significant improvement to medical comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome. Empirical data suggest a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among bariatric surgery candidates. In this review, we focus on the studies published recently with a high impact on our understanding of the role of psychiatry in bariatric surgery.Recent findingsThis article reviews the specific psychopathologies before surgery, changes in psychopathologies after surgery, suicide risk related to bariatric surgery, factors associated with weight loss, and recommendations for presurgical and postsurgical assessment and management. Research indicates a decrease in certain psychiatric symptoms after weight loss with bariatric surgery. However, the risk of suicide and unsuccessful weight loss in some bariatric surgery patients make monitoring following surgery as important as careful assessment and management before surgery. Specific considerations for youth and older populations and future potential research foci are discussed.SummaryRecent publications suggest new directions for psychiatric evaluation and interventions for bariatric surgery patients. Future research on outcomes of specific populations, effectiveness of psychopharmacotherapy, and underlying pathophysiology are warranted for the advancement of treating bariatric surgery patients.

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The educational level and participation in social activities were associated with the cognitive impairment among the aged community dwellers.

Background: telomere length has been used to represent biological ageing and is found to be associated with various physiological, psychological and social factors.Objective: to explore the effects of income and marriage on leucocyte telomere length in a representative sample of older adults.Design and subjects: cross-sectional analysis among 298 adults, aged 65–74, randomly selected from the community by census.Methods: telomere length was measured by quantitative PCR. Participants provided information on sociodemographics, physical illness and completed questionnaires rating mental state and perceived neighbourhood experience.Results: telomere length was negatively associated with lower income [coefficient −0.141 (95% CI: −0.244 to −0.020), P = 0.021] and positively associated with the marital status [coefficient 0.111 (95% CI: −0.008 to 0.234), P = 0.067] when controlling for gender, age, educational level, physical diseases (including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular disease and Parkinson's disease), depressive symptoms, minor mental symptoms, cognitive impairment and perceived neighbourhood experience (including social support, perceived security and public facilities).Conclusions: these results indicate that older adults with higher income or being married have longer telomeres when other sociodemographics, physical diseases, mental status and neighbourhood experience are adjusted.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric disorder that is easily misdiagnosed. Patient adherence to a treatment regimen is of utmost importance for successful outcomes in BD. Several trials of antipsychotics suggested that depot antipsychotics, including long-acting first- and second-generation agents, are effective in preventing non-adherence, partial adherence, and in reducing relapse in BD. Various long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are available, including fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol decanoate, olanzapine pamoate, risperidone microspheres, paliperidone palmitate, and aripiprazole monohydrate. Due to the increasing number of BD patients receiving LAI antipsychotics, treatment guidelines have been developed. However, the clinical applicability of LAI antipsychotics remains a global cause for concern, particularly in Asian countries. Expert physicians from Taiwan participated in a consensus meeting, which was held to review key areas based on both current literature and clinical practice. The purpose of this meeting was to generate a practical and implementable set of recommendations for LAI antipsychotic use to treat BD; target patient groups, dosage, administration, and adverse effects were considered. Experts recommended using LAI antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia, rapid cycling BD, BD I, and bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder. LAI antipsychotic use was recommended in BD patients with the following characteristics: multiple episodes and low adherence; seldom yet serious episodes; low adherence potential per a physician’s clinical judgment; preference for injectable agents over oral agents; and multiple oral agent users still experiencing residual symptoms.